Porter's Timbers -- Kevin Alexander, Slide Rule Pass: Porter's eye for detail and man management abilities soon had the team firing on the field, while his eye of talent saw some of US soccer's brightest prospect turning up in Ohio.

Porter named Timbers coach, will take over after conclusion of college season -- Soccer By Ives: Porter, who guided the Akron Zips (ranked No. 1 in SBI's College Soccer poll) to a national championship in 2010, will look to exit the college game on top again before taking over for a franchise whose rabid fanbase is starved for a perennial winner, much like Akron has become under Porter's watch.

An outsider's day trip to the Portland-Vancouver derby -- Prost Amerika: To be fair to the Southsiders, they have ran into some "extenuating circumstances" with their Club Front Office and Supporters Group relationship right out of the gates. The good sign is that through the Cascadia Supporters Summit both of the Groups in Seattle and Portland are actively assisting the Whitecaps group in their growth.